Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food
Impacts of the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023: Discussion
2:00 am
Mr. Conor Geraghty:
There will never be a levelling out because all the antibiotics are supplied and prescribed by vets. A person cannot go into a merchant, regardless of whether he or she has a prescription, and buy a bottle of injectable antibiotic. It is not allowed. Farmers can go to a pharmacy but farmers want their animal treated. They do not want to call you, pay you, get a prescription, get cleaned up, go into town to some pharmacy to get the medication, come back and start treatment. When they call the vet, they expect the vet to treat the animal if the animal is sick. Once antiparasitics become prescription, we envisage that farmers will need a prescription to fulfil it. All the IT systems are provided for farmers to fulfil that wherever they normally fill it. The Minister has provided a TASAH, which basically pays the vet to give the advice so they can get the prescription. There is not one for everyone in the audience, but if there is oversubscription, the Minister might provide more. Then we have the situation-----
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